Brother's Keeper
by laxplaya
Summary: Inuyasha has spent his whole life fighting demons and many other evils. But now, he faces he greatest challenge of all time: Sota!
1. OSUWARI!

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 1

"OSUWARI!"

The sun shines on a beautiful late morning in Feudal Japan. The village women were harvesting the rice to sell to market, while the men were gathering hunting supplies, as it was getting close to lunchtime. Meanwhile, at the Bone Eater's Well, Inuyasha waits very impatiently for Kagome to come back from her own time.

"Damn it, Kagome," he nearly shouted at the top of his lungs. "This had better not keep up for much longer or else I'm gonna kill the person who keeps giving you these 'exams'."  
"Stop barking, Inuyasha," Miroku said to the frustrated half-demon. "You have to remember that she has another life of her own."  
"That's enough out of you, you stupid monk. We all know how important it is to find all of the Shikon jewel shards."  
"She can't spend her entire life with you, Inuyasha. You have to realize that it's not easy for her to keep juggling her life and family with the search for the shards. If I were you, I'd quit complaining until you've tried it for yourself."  
Inuyasha realized that Miroku made a very good point. He was temporarily at loss for words, but he always found some sort of way to make a comeback. "Keh! Just shut up, will ya?"

Just then, he noticed a blue glow coming from the well. It was Kagome. As she slowly made her way up the side of the well, Inuyasha was inching closer towards exploding right in front of Kagome's face just as soon as she popped her head out of the well. As Kagome was reaching the top of the well, she just knew that Inuyasha would be there to practically rip her head off. So, she stopped him the only way she knows how, and it's certainly the most entertaining.

"OSUWARI!"

Inuyasha fell face first into the ground, causing a minor earthquake.

"OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI! OSUWARI!"

This drove Inuyasha at least another three feet into the ground, creating a tremor that even the villagers could feel, and a crater that nearly got Miroku caught up in it. As Kagome lifted herself and her large backpack to the edge of the well, she saw what she did to Inuyasha and said in a sarcastic and surprised tone, "Hello, Inuyasha. My, my, what happened to you?" Miroku smirked a little bit, trying as hard as he could not to laugh.

Suddenly, Shippo comes running out of the bushes to Kagome and leaps into her bosom. He then looked up to her and said, "I felt an earthquake, so I figured you had come back." Kagome gave a little chuckle and set Shippo down as she reached into her backpack. She pulls out a big lollipop, and Shippo's eyes nearly pop out of his head in surprise and joy. "I brought some candy for you, Shippo. I know how much you love these," she said as she gave them to the little kitsune. '"Love these' would be an understatement," Shippo replied as he begin to lick the lollipop.

As Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo left and started their journey, Inuyasha lifted his head out of the ground and started to growl. "Isn't this just great? Shippo gets presents and I get 'Osuwaris'."

As the gang resumes the search for the Shikon jewel shards, Inuyasha catches up with everyone else after he regained movement of his limbs. He stepped right in front of Kagome and yelled at her, "What is wrong with you? What the hell up with all those 'Osuwaris'?"  
"I knew you were gonna act this way," Kagome said with a big sigh."Of course I'm gonna act this way! You leave us for three days for one of your stupid 'exams' when you know that we have to continue the search for the shards since we're so close to finishing it!"While Kagome and Inuyasha continued yelling their heads off, Shippo jumped out of Kagome's arms and onto Miroku's shoulder, just so he could save himself from going deaf. Miroku gave a big sigh and said, "We're not gonna get a chance to find the shard because those two will probably kill each other first." Shippo nodded in agreement and continued to lick his lollipop.

"OSUWARI!" Inuyasha hit the ground, causing a small tree to shake off all of its leaves. Kagome storms off in frustration

Shippo sighed and said, "These two are gonna do Naraku's job for him at this rate.

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	2. Food for Fight

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 2

"Food for Fight"

The sun began to set on the day. Kagome was able to find some water, so she took the opportunity to wash herself and her clothes. Inuyasha and Miroku went to try to find something to eat, and Shippo took a nap on top of Kagome's backpack. After about 10 minutes, Miroku and Inuyasha came back to camp, but they were empty-handed. Kagome came out of her bath, put on another set of clothes, and hung her wet and clean clothes over the fire that was set up. She heard Inuyasha and Miroku talking, though "talking" would be an understatement. Quite frankly, it was an argument. They fought over whose fault it was that they came back with no food.

"Look here, you damn monk! We had plenty of opportunities to get some food, but you just had to be so picky about it!" Inuyasha howled at Miroku with a somewhat sarcastic tone at the end.  
"Come on! You knew that we were not going to be able to eat an entire pack of wolves, you moron!" said the angered monk.  
"Both of you, stop it now!" Kagome authoritatively intervened. "Besides, I have some food we can have that I brought from home."  
"Geez, Kagome! You think you could have told us sooner?" Inuyasha barked.  
"Yeah! That news came to us just when we needed to hear it!" Miroku added with a heavily sarcastic ring to his voice.  
"Knock it off! You two had already left before I had a chance to tell you," Kagome replied, "This means, however, that I'm going to have to go right back home first thing on the morning so I can restock on some things."  
"Why didn't you stock up the first time you had the chance?" Inuyasha pointed out. All this yelling finally woke up Shippo from his very long nap.

Everyone was treated to instant ramen, rice balls, and water bottles to wash it all down with. Inuyasha, not surprisingly, nearly ate all the ramen that Kagome had. Everyone was fed, but no one else could have seconds. After spending the next couple of hours talking about the search for the shards, everyone agreed it was time to get some sleep. Inuyasha found a high tree branch nearby, Kagome rolled out her sleeping bag, and got out two more blankets for Miroku and Shippo. When the sun began to rise, so did Kagome. She was the only one up yet, so she had to be very careful not to make any loud noises. She packed up her sleeping bag, left behind some more rice balls for breakfast, and got herself prepared to leave. She took one last look at Inuyasha, and then, simply put, she started walking.

About an hour after Kagome left, everyone else woke up. They were all surprised to see Kagome gone already. Shippo noticed a note left right beside the rice balls. He handed it to Miroku, who then read it aloud:

"I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye before I left, but I had to leave as soon as I could so I could come back as soon as I could. I shouldn't be too long. Hopefully I'll see you in time for lunch. Yours truly, Kagome."

Everyone ate a rice ball or two before trying to decide what the group should do until Kagome returns. Inuyasha was campaigning for the group to move on. "We need to get as many shards as we can! Besides, Kagome will catch up. She'll probably bring the two-wheel whatchamacallit.""Give me a break, Inuyasha," Miroku replied. "You can't find the shards unless Kagome tells you where they are. I agree that we must find the shards, but we must have the full group together. Speaking of which, does anyone know where Sango is? We haven't seen her in three days."  
"Why? So you can grope her and get your ass handed to you?" Inuyasha commented.

All of a sudden, both Inuyasha and Miroku got hit in the face with a rice ball, both coming from Shippo. "Serves ya right, you idiots," Shippo said. "You should stop fighting over meaningless things and…"

POW!

Inuyasha punched Shippo right on top of his head, causing a massive lump the size of a cantaloupe to swell on him, and knock the little kitsune unconscious. Inuyasha commented, "Funny. It sounded hollow."

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	3. Brotherly Hatred

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 3

"Brotherly Hatred"

Kagome arrives at the bottom of the well in Modern Japan, ready to surprise her family by stopping by. She climbs out of the well, opens the well house doors, and is bombarded with sunlight because the sun is facing straight at her. _I see the light! It burns!_ After her eyes finally adjusted to all the light surrounding her, she walked very quickly to the house, noticing that no one had woken up yet. She slowly opened the door, checks to see if she's in the clear, and tiptoes into the house, carefully closing the door behind her. She removes her shoes so that she won't make loud noises, and carefully advances to her room. When she finally gets there, she breathes a deep sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?" a mysterious voice said. Kagome gasped, but then realized that had accidentally walked into Sota's room.  
"Whoops! My bad, Sota." Kagome replied, still shocked and now embarrassed.  
"Still, why are you here? You're here two weeks early."  
"I forgot to pack more food. Don't tell mom I'm here yet. I want to surprise her."  
"Just like you surprised yourself?"  
"That's not funny, Sota!"  
"Well, I thought it was. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said it."

Kagome gave him the 'evil eye' as she marched out of Sota's room and into her own. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 8:30 AM. She tried to predict what the group was going to do while she was gone. Finally, she decided to leave at 9:30 AM, just to be on the safe side. The only problem was that when she finally made the decision, it was already 9:15 AM! Kagome rushed out of her room, into the kitchen, and panicked because her mom saw her.

"Kagome! I didn't know you were back! Why are you here so soon?" she kept asking. As Kagome tried to come up with one answer after another, this gave Sota the perfect distraction. He snuck into Kagome's room, took a look around, and found what he was looking for. He grabbed the bottle of Shikon shards, opened it, and took one. He closed it back up, and set it back down, then snuck out as quickly as he could.

Finally, Kagome had gotten away from her mother's barrage. She packed lots of ramen, prepared some lunch trays, packed some food for Kirara, in case they ever found Sango, and tried to find room in her backpack for it all. "Man, Inuyasha's right. I probably don't need half the stuff in here." She created enough room to place the food, grabbed some clean clothes and her bow with some arrows, and finally said her goodbyes. She ran to the well house, walked up to the well and jumped in.

Meanwhile, Sota is smiling at himself for getting away with taking a shard. His head was filling with glee. He can finally see his "big half-brother" where he lives. _How cool! I get to be just like my big sister! But, I can't let mom know that I'm doing this. I have to come up with a lie she can believe, and I have to hurry if want to have a chance at following Kagome. _"Mom, I going back in time…at the museum of natural history," he slowly put together. _Smooth move, genius, _he sarcastically thought to himself. _You're a real improv specialist now, aren't you? _"There's this cool exhibit on the Feudal Ages. I thought I'd go there so I can understand what Kagome's talking about."  
"Come back as soon as you can."  
"I will." _I wonder why she didn't ask me a whole bunch of stuff._ Sota then thought about the lie he told and thought, _Maybe she's onto me. What if she read between the lines? I can't question that now. I have to go._

Sota walked to the well house, getting more and more nervous with each step he took. When he finally opened the doors, he took a good look at the well. He walked up to the edge, grabbed the Shikon shard tightly, and said softly, "Inuyasha, here I come." With that, he took a deep breath, and jumped in. All of a sudden, the world around him changed from a dark small stone well, to almost as if being in space as he fell through the time-space continuum. He awed in amazement, repeatedly saying, "Wow!" When he looked down, he saw a square shaped light, getting closer and closer. He braced himself as he started to go through it. When he came out, he slowly floated to the bottom of the well. He started breathing more heavily as he realized he had done it. He has traveled back in time 500 years. He notices the vines on the side of the well and starts to climb out.

Sota struggled to pull his body over the edge of the well. "How in the world Kagome do this, especially with a heavy backpack on her shoulders?" he said. When he finally was able to get himself over the edge, he heavily exhaled, and looked around with astonishment. The shrine is gone. He was now surrounded by nothing but trees. He sat on the well's edge to take a moment and absorb it all. As he got off, he softly said to himself, "I guess I'm too late. Kagome must have taken off already."

All of a sudden came "OSUWARI!" A huge tremor followed, almost causing Sota to loose his balance. When things settled down, he rolled his eyes to the heavens and said a little excitedly, "Thank you, Inuyasha!" He ran in the direction of the tremor. As he got closer, he could hear Kagome and Inuyasha arguing. But then, the yelling stopped. Sota got scared and hid behind a tree. Inuyasha sniffed around as Kagome wondered what was wrong. Then Inuyasha eyes grew wider. "Is that Sota, your pesky brother?" Miroku and Shippo both were shocked "Brother?" "That's impossible. He doesn't have a Shikon shard, and I've told him multiple times not to come here," Kagome replied. Inuyasha walked into the trees and grabbed Sota by the sweater. "Well, I guess he didn't listen." Everyone else gasped and Kagome had the biggest shocked expression on her face as all Sota could muster was an embarrassed laugh.

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	4. I Know We're Siblings, But

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 4

"I Know We're Siblings, But…"

"Sota, what on earth are you doing here? How did you get here?" Kagome demanded. He struggled to give an answer as his sweater was causing him to suffocate. "Inuyasha, drop him," Kagome said. Sota fell face first into the ground, spitting and coughing out dirt as he got up. "Yeah, just what are you doing here, you little pipsqueak?" Inuyasha asked as he kicked Sota's head back into the ground.

"OSUWARI!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha slammed into the ground headfirst. "Welcome to my world, kid," he said to Sota while both of them were still lying on the ground. Sota got up and brushed off his clothes before he finally could give an answer. "I'm sorry. I just had to come. It's just not fair that you get to have all these great adventures with Inuyasha, and I never get to join in on the fun." Sota explained.  
"You took one of the Shikon shards from me, didn't you? Sota, there's a reason why I keep telling you that you can't come with me. It's too dangerous for you to be here," Kagome explained."So how come it's too dangerous for me, but not for you?"  
"It is too dangerous for me as well. But I have a reason to be here. You're just here out of jealousy."  
"Can you blame me, though?"

Kagome started to speak, but stopped herself, realizing she'd be jealous if it was the other way around, "No, I guess I can't blame you."  
"Besides, sis, you know who much I admire Inuyasha."

Shippo and Miroku were both surprised by this. "Inuyasha? You have someone who admires you?" Miroku asked. "Yes, and he won't stop," Inuyasha said annoyed.  
"And why should I?" Sota asked as he grabbed and hugged Inuyasha on his hips, "He's like a big brother to me!"  
"Sota, can I be your brother too?" Shippo asked with big puppy eyes.  
"Sure you can," Sota answered. This made Shippo really happy. Sota laughed as Shippo climbed onto his shoulders. "And what's your name, little buddy?"  
"My name is Shippo, and this is Miroku," Shippo answered.  
"Ah, so you're the pervert?" Sota said with a smug look on his face. Miroku was at a loss for words. "Kagome, what have you told him?" Miroku asked, more angrily with every word that went through his lips. "Nothing that isn't common knowledge," Inuyasha answered for Kagome.

Kagome was touched by the relationship Sota and Shippo just made, as they continued to play. But she was still angered that her little brother disobeyed her. "Cheer up, Kagome," Miroku said. "He hasn't caused any trouble. Would it kill you if he spent just one day with us?"

Kagome realized he had a point. _Maybe it is best that he stay here,_ she thought to herself, _but only to get this out of his system. Then he's going straight home! For now, I'll just have to swallow my pride._

Inuyasha marched up to Kagome and demanded to know why Sota was staying with them. "Are you crazy? I can't stand being within a hundred feet of him! You've absolutely lost it this time…"  
"OSUWARI!" followed by a huge thud. "Remember, you idiot, I have to live with him," Kagome said.

Kagome then walks on top of Inuyasha's back so she can check up on Sota. "Sota, can I have a talk with you?" she asked.

"Sure, Kagome," said a perplexed little boy. They went to find a quiet place where Kagome could explain the situation to her brother.  
Kagome started the conversation, "Sota, I know that you've been wanting to come here for a very long time.""Of course I've wanted to come. You know how much I love to be around Inuyasha," Sota replied.  
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you are not welcome here in this time." Sota gasped at such a bold statement.  
"You can't treat time travel like it's a way to take a vacation. This is not a place for child's play." Kagome looked into Sota's eyes and realized that she had absolutely destroyed her little brother's feelings. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Tears started to well up in Sota's eyes. He made no attempt to hold them back. He pulled Kagome's white blouse and started to cry on her shoulder. He eventually cried himself to sleep, and Kagome was left alone to think about what she had just done.

Be sure to visit "Mind Reader" by ElvesExist

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	5. Can You Keep Me?

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 5

"Can You Keep Me?"

After having about an hour to think about what happened, Kagome put Sota on her sleeping bag so that he could sleep peacefully. "What's wrong, Kagome? Why do you look so sad?" Shippo asked. Kagome chose not to answer that question as she just walked on by. Miroku tried to break through to Kagome, but it was completely ignored. "Did you get to explain the deal?" Miroku insisted. This time, Kagome stopped, turned around, and shook her head. She then said softly, "Try not to make loud noises. He's sleeping. I'm gonna try to clear my head, so I want to be left alone for a while." Shippo and Miroku then became depressed as well.

Kagome found a tranquil spot right next to a pond. She fell backwards onto the grass, and even tried to cheer herself up.

_Wow! This place is so peaceful. Wait a minute! That's not why I came here! _She tried to shake those thoughts out of her head. _I guess I'm still shocked to find out Sota finally made it. Maybe I should cut him some slack. I'd probably be just as excited as he is right now. _

"Kagome," a mysterious voice said as it snapped Kagome out of her nearly hypnotized state. She sat up and turned around to see who it was, and sighed when she realized that it was just Sota. "What is it, Sota?" she asked. Sota sat down along side of Kagome.  
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for stealing the shard, for disobeying you, and for bothering you.""It's alright. I'm sorry for being so harsh on you earlier. It's a good thing you're here right now because I want to have a talk with you." Sota had a perplexed look on his face when she said that.  
"While it's too dangerous for someone as young as you to be here, I know how much you adore Inuyasha. Which is why I'm letting you stay here for the rest of the day." Sota's face lit up with joy. He had a smile from ear-to-ear. He jumped onto Kagome, and hugged her with all his might.  
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Sota said.  
"But Sota, you're going back home first thing tomorrow morning," Kagome tried to explain, but Sota didn't care. He was too happy to care.

Sota started skipping out of the forest in celebration as Kagome followed him. When they returned to camp, Inuyasha showed a very confused face. "What the hell are you so happy about, kid?" Inuyasha asked.  
"Kagome is letting me stay with you guys!" Sota replied. Shippo jumped as high as he could in joy, as Sota ran off to play with him.  
"Are you crazy? Why the hell did you let him stay?" Inuyasha demanded.  
"Would you relax? It's only for the rest of the day. He's going back home first thing tomorrow," Kagome explained.  
"But that's at least another half day! Besides, with how whiny you are, he's gotta be at least ten times worse, even worse than Shippo!"  
"Hey! I heard that!" Shippo screamed.  
"INUYASHA, OSUWARI!" A HUGE thud followed.

After eating lunch, the group decides to head out and continue searching for more shards. But it wouldn't take long before problems arose.  
"Kagome, my feet are killing me! Can we stop soon?" Sota whined  
"Sota, we practically just left," Kagome responded.  
"So, what's your point?"  
"Just shut up and try to toughen it out."  
"Have you ever thought about putting a rosary on him?" Inuyasha retorted. Kagome gave him the 'evil eye.' Suddenly a figure was seen out in the distance. "Is that Sango up there?" Kagome asked. Everyone stopped to lift their heads and squint their eyes. "It is Sango!" Miroku exclaimed. "Hey! Sango! Down here!" Kirara then came down for a landing in front of them. "Hi, everyone! It's nice to see you all again," she said. She then notices Sota standing in the back. "Who's the new guy back there?"  
"That's my little brother, Sota," Kagome answered.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sota"  
"The pleasure is all mine," Sota said  
"How old are you?"  
"I'm eight years old"  
"Wow! You know, you're more polite than people I know who are three times you're age," she said as she gave the 'evil eye' to Miroku. Everyone else could do nothing else but laugh.

"Well, why don't we all hop on Kirara and…" Sango was interrupted as a huge demon came up from behind her and surprised everyone, except Inuyasha, of course. Sota looked up with the biggest scared look on his face. _Now I know why Kagome never wanted my to come here._

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	6. It's Bad Enough Sharing Blood

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 6

"It's Bad Enough Sharing Blood"

Sota gasped in awe as the demon emerged from underneath the ground. As he took a step back just so he could see the entire demon, everyone else geared for battle. "Kagome, is there a Shikon shard on the demon?" Inuyasha asked.

"Hold on for one moment," Kagome replied. A brief pause followed as Kagome searched the demon's body for a shard. The demon was about 25 feet tall, so it took her a while to scan the entire body. It had a very tough and tan-colored exterior around it. On it's back were what appeared to be stone pillars that came to a very sharp point at the end of each one. Even Kagome was in awe of the foe that stood in front of her. "Right there, behind his right ear," she exclaimed. Inuyasha pulls out Tetsusaiga, revealing it as a huge fang. Sota became impressed again when he pulled it out. Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows, turned around, and said, "Sota, you and Shippo go find a place to hide." Sota nodded his head in complete agreement. Shippo jumped on Sota's shoulder as Sota ran behind a giant boulder. He tried to stay as low to the ground as possible, but he still slightly showed his head so he could still get a good view of what was going on.

Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara all tried to prepare themselves for the hard battle that fell before them. Inuyasha ran towards the demon, screaming at the top of his lungs as he did so. Kagome placed an arrow on her bow, and Miroku and Sango hopped on Kirara and took off. Inuyasha jumped in the air, ready to strike, but was easily batted down by the back of the demon's right hand. Being the stubborn demon that he is, Inuyasha hopped right back up and tried again, only to be swatted back down to earth. The demon then started marching towards Kagome, creating a minor earthquake with each step it took. Kagome took aim at the demon's chest, but it bounced off like a flea trying to tackle a grizzly bear.

Sango, flying on Kirara's back about 40 feet in the air, grabbed her Hiraikotsu tightly and prepared to chuck it at the demon. She grunted very heavily as she threw her arm across her body, releasing her heavy boomerang. It hit one of the spikes on the back and bounced off, but it was hit just right and with enough force to cause the spike to slowly break off the back. The demon became annoyed as Sango even surprised herself that she was able to do that. The demon turned his in Kirara's direction, and opened its mouth wide open, ready to launch an attack. Bright particles started to collect to form a ball at the front of the demon's mouth. The ball became increasingly bigger. Suddenly, a yellow beam shot out from that ball, and narrowly missed hitting Kirara by about three feet. "I don't care who you are! That was way too close for comfort!" Miroku said in reaction.

The demon kept marching onward, this time in Sota's direction. Kagome saw this and fired as many arrows as she could, as quickly as she could in hopes of creating a distraction from behind. However, this attempt was to no avail, and soon, Kagome ran out of arrows. Sota kept moving his head more upward to look at the demon, with his expression showing more and more fear. He slowly crawled backwards as the demon crept closer. The demon lifted up his right leg, ready to stomp Sota into the next life. Kagome saw this and screamed her brother's name as loud as she could, stretching out her right arm in an attempt to save him even though she was too far away to do anything. Her voice echoed through the forest.

The demon's foot started to come down. Sota closed his eyes as tightly as he could and put his hands together, almost as if praying that someone or something would save his life. The foot came closer, but suddenly, it was repelled back as a huge, light blue dome surrounded Sota, still in his little "prayer mode." The demon was knocked backwards and came to a crash on its back. Everyone gasped in awe of what happened. Inuyasha saw this as the perfect opportunity, so his attacked the demon while it was down.

"WIND SCAR!" he shouted as three yellow blades came from Tetsusaiga and destroyed the demon. Pieces of the demon's body flew everywhere. Sota, unaware of what happened yet, continued to be in his state of hope, as flying pieces of carcass bounced off his barrier. Sota slowly opened one eye and came out of his hopeful stance, with the biggest look of confusion on his face. "Huh? What happened how come I'm still alive?" he asked in astonishment. He saw the path Inuyasha's attack made and assumed it was he who saved his life. "Wow! Inuyasha, you saved my life! I thought I was a goner." This time, confusion was written all over Inuyasha's face. "You're crazy, little dude," he said. Inuyasha saw that Kagome's arm was still extended with an open palm. "Your sister must have put up a barrier to protect you," he tried to reason.  
"What? Are you crazy? I don't have that power," Kagome responded.  
"Well then, how do you explain the barrier?"

Inuyasha and Kagome both took a look at Sota, which surprised him. "Did I really do that?" he asked himself.

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	7. The Priestess is In

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 7

"The Priestess Is In"

NOTE TO THOSE READING ON FAN FICTION:The authors mentioned in chapters 3, 4, and 5 are located at Media Miner

Everyone stares at Sota with nothing but shocked expressions on their faces. Kirara landed, and Sango and Miroku hopped off. They also had astonishment written all over their faces. Sota looked down and stared at his hands. Kagome bent down and picked up the Shikon shard from the freshly destroyed demon, but at that moment, it didn't matter. The important thing was Sota has revealed his hidden powers.

"Wait a minute. What about Shippo? Couldn't he have use his fox magic to create the barrier?" Sango questioned.  
Sota looked at his new best friend and asked him, "You have magic?"  
"Of course, I do. I'm a fox demon. What did you expect? Don't you know anything?" Shippo responded.  
"Apparently, I don't"

"This is ridiculous. We already got the shard, so why are we still standing here?" Inuyasha demanded.  
"OSUWARI!" followed by a huge thud.  
"What should we do?" Sango asked.  
"I suggest we see lady Kaede about this and ask her what she thinks about this new revelation," Miroku said.  
"I agree. Let's go," Kagome replied.

Everyone hopped on Kirara's back, but Inuyasha had trouble getting up. Kagome got back off, and pulled Inuyasha's frail body over to Kirara. Sango and Miroku helped lift him onto the cat demon's back. Kagome got back on, and off they went. Inuyasha finally sat up and said, "It's about time we left."  
"Trust me, Inuyasha. You don't want to be sat from this high up. It would hurt," Kagome answered back.

A short time later, Kirara came in for a landing in front of Kaede's hut, transformed back into a kitten, and hopped onto Sango's right shoulder. Kagome and Sota went through the entrance, as Inuyasha, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku followed. "Lady Kaede," Kagome said.  
"Hello there, Kagome. Who is ye guest?" Kaede responded. She was finishing washing her clothes.  
"Huh? Oh, this is my younger brother Sota."  
_She's looks old enough our great-grandmother_, Sota thought.  
"Kaede, we would like to have a conversation with you," Miroku said.  
"What would ye like to discuss?" Kaede asked.  
"It's Sota. We come asking for your wisdom."  
"Fine, then. I'll make some tea."  
"Thank you, Kaede."

Everyone took a seat while Kaede went off to prepare the tea, but Sota wanted answers and he wanted them now.  
"Kagome, why are we here?" Sota asked with deep curiosity.  
"Kaede will help us try to figure why you have these spiritual powers," Miroku replied.  
"I'm sorry, but is your name Kagome?"  
"Sota! That was very rude! Apologize!" Kagome demanded.  
"Sorry, Miroku"  
_Wow! I'm not the only one Kagome bosses around_, Inuyasha thought.

Kaede walked in with a tray containing a teapot and seven cups. She set it down in the middle of the circle and served everyone. "So tell me, what is it that troubles ye minds?" she asked. Kagome explained what happened with the demon, and Kaede kept eliminating possibilities in her mind as Kagome went on. "Well, I think it has become obvious that Sota possesses the same spiritual powers that ye do, Kagome," she concluded. Of course, a lot of this just flew over Sota's head because he had no idea what Kaede was talking about, but he went along with it anyway.

"How is this possible, Kaede?" Kagome asked  
"It makes perfect sense. As ye already know, Kikyo possessed spiritual powers that were quite unique. I have spiritual powers as well because I am her sister. Since ye are Kikyo's reincarnation, Kagome, it would only make sense that ye brother would possess the same powers as ye do."

Sota had so many questions he wanted to ask, like who Kikyo was, and she means by "reincarnation", but he knew it would be a long story that he did not have the patience to hear.

_Well, one thing is certain. The situation just got weirder and more interesting_, Kagome thought as she sipped her tea.

* * *

Remember the 3 R's: Read, Review, and Recommend 


	8. In the Eyes of the Idolizer

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 8

"In The Eyes of the Idolizer"

Everyone just sat in there semi-circle, pondering what Kaede said and sipping his or her tea. Shippo kept panting because his tea was too hot to handle and kept burning his tongue. But the one person who was in the deepest trance about all of this was Sota. He had the deepest hypnotized look on his face. Kagome tried to snap him out of his current state. "Sota? So-o-o-ta? Anyone in there?"  
"Huh?" Sota gasped.  
"Sota, what's on your mind? What are you thinking right now?"  
"That would be a first," Inuyasha retorted.  
Everyone at once said, "OSUWARI!" almost as if they knew it was coming. As usual, it was followed a massive thud.  
"I honestly don't know. I guess I'm still shocked by all this. There's just so much confusion going through my head, I don't know what to do," Sota answered.  
"I can see why," Miroku said. "You have it written all over your face."  
"What do you suggest we do now, Kaede?" Kagome asked.  
"I'm not sure myself," she replied. "On the one hand, he is a very young boy and ye should avoid putting him in danger. However, his powers could be helpful to ye journey. It is certainly a predicament ye are in."  
Kagome pondered hard about this before finally deciding that it was time to leave. "Well, thanks for the help," Kagome said. Everyone stood up, and Miroku bowed toward the high priestess.

Meanwhile, back in the modern era, Grandpa Higurashi was trying to come up with another bogus excuse for her granddaughter's absence to Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi.  
"She has a case of the Bird flu," he explained."Oh, my God!" "Is it serious?" "How could this happen?" they said.  
"Dad, what are you doing?" Mom said, "I'm sorry girls he's a little loopy today. Kagome's is out of town for the weekend. I'm so sorry." She took her father and closed the door. _Still though, I'm worried about Sota. Why isn't he home yet?_ she thought.

The girls had confusion all over their faces. "Kagome's mom said that Grandpa was crazy, but I wonder if he's like that all the time," Eri said.  
"You don't actually think he's been lying to us all this time, do you?" Ayumi asked.  
"If only we had paid more attention in health, we might actually know what he's talking about," Yuka replied.  
"That's true," Eri said.

Back in the feudal era, camp for the night had been set up, and everyone was situated around the campfire. Above it was a pot of water being heated do it can be used for making the ramen. Once Kagome added the noodles, Inuyasha stared at it and started drooling into the fire. "Be sure you don't fall in," Shippo yelled as he hopped on Inuyasha's head. Innuyasha lost his balance and hit his head on the pot. He regained his balance, but half the ramen spilled out. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think someone's going hungry tonight," Kagome said. "I'm open to all suggestions."  
"I nominate Inuyasha," Shippo said.  
"I second that," Kagome replied. "All in favor?" Everyone but Inuyasha and Sota raised his or her hand. "And, all those opposed?" Only Inuyasha raised his right hand, doing so with the most evil glare in his eyes.  
"Then it's settled. Sorry, Inuyasha, but that's what you get for ruining our meal. I'm sure you can find something around here to eat," Kagome said with a snicker across her face. Inuyasha started growling as Kagome served everyone a bowl.

Sota felt sorry for his idol as he started walking off to find something. "Inuyasha, wait!" he screamed. Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks.  
"Inuyasha, I know how much you love ramen, so I'm letting you have my bowl." Everyone stopped eating as they were surprised by what Sota was doing, but at the same time, they were also touched by his generosity. Inuyasha kept on walking, however, leaving Sota very disheartened. Everyone around him could feel his pain. They almost didn't want to eat anymore.  
"It must be frustrating, to admire someone as much as he does, and then to be treated that way, it just breaks your heart to see that," Sango said.  
Shippo came over to try and console his new friend, but it was to no avail. Sota set his bowl down, walked over to Kagome's backpack, grabbed a blanket, and went to sleep.

Kagome saw all this and took a bite of her meal. Pity was written all over her face as she thought, _It's certainly doesn't help him to end his day here on such a sad note. Poor thing._

* * *

Remember the 3 R's: Read, Review, and Recommend 


	9. Quagmire

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 9

"Quagmire"

As Sota tried to fall asleep, a very small teardrop started to well up in his eye. He felt it, and softly wiped it away. Kagome noticed this and felt deep pity for her little brother. After she finished her ramen, she set her bowl down, looked at Sango and Miroku, and said, "I'm gonna go find Inuyasha and have a talk with him. You two keep an eye on him. And keep your hands to yourself, Miroku." Miroku blushed and gave a weak laugh.

Kagome yelled out Inuyasha's name in hopes of finding him. "INUYASHA! INUYASHA! This isn't working. Wait! I know!" She looked to her left and her right, then, she closed her eyes and shouted, "OSUWARI!" Inuyasha's thud came from the right, along with falling tree branches. "Works every time! I don't know how I ever had fun without it," she said with a big grin on her face. She walked in the direction of the "THUD," but it was so dark that she could barely see anything two feet in front of her. "OSUWARI!" She turned her head in the direction of the "THUD" at the last second and saw the light from the rosary beards. Off in the distance, she heard Inuyasha say, "Damn it, Kagome! What the hell is wrong with you? _Then again, what's right with her?_

"There you are! I thought I'd never find you, Kagome said, followed by a wink.  
"You could have just said my name, you know?" Inuyasha yelled  
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Actually, I'm glad you're here. I need to have a word with you."  
Inuyasha had a confused expression on his face as Kagome sat down next to him.  
"What's your big problem with Sota? Sure, he can get irritating, but he's still very young. He's just being himself."  
"He just makes such a big deal out of every thing that I do. It's not really that special."  
"Well, it may not be special to you, but to him, it's all the more reason for him to want to be like you." She paused so it could sink in. "I think that's something to be admired. He sees you as the big brother he never had. He just wishes, and so do I, that you would be proud of the fact that you're a role model to someone, and that you're making an impact."  
"That the problem. I don't want to be adored by some damn puny little runt. How would you like if someone came up to you and kept pestering you about how they admire you, and how you're 'my hero'? It's just too exhausting."  
"I see your point, but seeing a smile on a child's face makes all the constant bugging worthwhile."  
"Your crazy! Besides, I really don't give a damn about this whole 'makes you feel good inside' crap. Save it for someone who gives a damn, and has time to waste."  
"OSUWARI!""

Off in the background, Kagome heard Sango and Miroku yelling. Well, Sango was doing all the yelling, and Miroku was trying to defend himself from her. SLAP! Kagome cringed when that sound hit her ears, and then she slapped her hand on her forehead. "Anyway, Inuyasha, at least try to be nicer to Sota," she said as she stood up. Kagome arrived back at camp just in time to see Miroku take a beating from Sango's Hirakotsu. She shook her head, as if to say, 'Miroku, you're a perverted idiot.' She walked over to Sota, lying sound asleep on the grass with nothing than a blanket covering him. Kagome retrieved a pillow from her backpack, and placed it under Sota's head. She sat up against the backpack, and stared quietly at her brother, looking adorable sleeping.

Sango walked over to Kagome and sat beside her. "What's the matter, Kagome?' she asked. "What's on your mind?"  
"I don't know. It's all happening so fast, I don't know what to think."  
"We've all been there before."  
"First, it's the fact that Sota got here in the first place, and now it appears he has sacred bateren powers." _How in the world am I going to explain this to Mom?_  
"Well, what are gonna do about the situation?"  
"I've told Sota he's going back home first thing in the morning. After that, though, I don't know what to do."  
"I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Kagome still was not reassured by what Sango said. She was still expecting to wake up at any moment and find out this was all a dream. _If Kaede wasn't able to give us any answers, how are supposed to know what to do? _she thought.

* * *

Remember the 3 R's: Read, Review, and Recommend 

bateren-priest


	10. Happy Tales to You

Brother's Keeper

Chapter 10

"Happy Tales to You"

A blanket of light surrounded the land as the sun rose. Slowly, but surely, everyone woke up. Kagome didn't see Inuyasha at first, so she looked around the trees on every branch. She could barely see him because the sun blinded her. "HEY! INUYASHA! INUYASHA!" she yelled, trying to wake him up. But Inuyasha could sleep through the apocalypse.  
"OSUWARI!" Inuyasha fell about 75 feet before creating a massive crater when he hit the ground. He woke up, but he was barely awake.

"What? Oh, my head hurts," he said tiredly.  
"Gee, Mr. Obvious! I wonder why," Kagome said sarcastically. Inuyasha looked around him to see the crater he made.  
"Damn!" he said softly.  
"It's breakfast time. So get up and get moving, young man!"  
"Calm down, Kagome. You know you can't keep me away from food for too long."

Everyone was treated to omelets and rice. Sango and Miroku chose to have theirs with a cup up nice, hot green tea. After eating, Kagome packed up her belongings, then went on a hunt for Sota and Shippo, who had went off on their own to play. Kagome could barely hear them giggling behind the trees off to her left. "Sota, its time to go," she yelled. "I'm coming," a soft voice replied. When he finally came out, Sota was covered in pricks from head to toe.

"There was an easier way around, you know," Kagome said as she pointed to the path cleared-out path leading to where they were.  
"Shippo dared me to go through," Sota replied. "Speaking of whom, where is he?" Shippo tiredly climbed through the bushes, also covered in pricks from head to paw, panting and breathing a sigh of relief after he escaped.

"See, I told ya I'd win," Sota said with a huge grin on his face.  
"You cheated!" Shippo screamed.  
"Did not!"  
"Did so!"  
"Did not!"  
"Did so!"  
Kagome sighed before bringing an end to the argument. "Stop it, you two!" Sota and Shippo growled at each other, but they quickly got over it.

The group arrives at the Bone Eater's Well, and Sota is confused beyond belief. "Sis, you're not taking me back home, are you?" he asked with a sad expression  
"Yes, Sota. You're going home."  
"But, why?"  
"Because…well, it's many reasons. Mom is probably worried sick about you, and I don't know what to do with you here. We'll talk about this some other time. For now, you'll have to say goodbye to everyone, and come down the well with me."  
Tears welled up in Sota's eyes as he realized he couldn't stay. "But I…"  
"No 'but's about it. You're going home and that's final."

Sango went down to her knees to try to console Sota. _Poor little guy_, she thought. "Don't be sad, Sota. I'm sure you'll be able to see us again someday." Sota continued to cry as he pulled Sango over to him for a hug. Miroku came over, got on his knees, and said, "Sota, I also have a feeling that we will meet each other again. So there is no reason to be upset when you have something to look forward to." Sota then turned to hug Miroku. Shippo ran over with tears in his eyes as well.  
"Sota, I'm gonna miss you so much," he said.  
"I'm gonna miss you too, little buddy. Just hang in there," he replied sobbingly as he hugged the little kitsune.

Everyone stood up as Sota turned his eyes to Inuyasha. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and thought, _Damn it! Now I gotta go through this crap too._ Sota walked up to him, wrapped his arms around Inuyasha's waist, and hugged him. He said softly, "Inuyasha, I know you see me as a pest, but I see you as my hero. I just wanted you to know that there's nothing wrong with having someone look up to you." Inuyasha felt a little touched by what was said, but, of course, he would never say anything aloud about it. So, he simply hugged Sota back. Sota finally let go and every one said goodbye to him as he joined his sister in jumping down the well. Kagome turned to everyone and said, "Stay here. I'm just gonna drop him off. I'll be right back." With that, the two jumped in. After seeing the blue glow, Inuyasha thought, _See ya later, kid._

**The End…?**

* * *

Remember the 3 R's: Read, Review, and Recommend. 


	11. Epilogue & Final Thoughts

**Brother's Keeper**

Epilogue & Final Thoughts

Kagome climbed back out of the well, but Sota stood there, at the bottom of the well, refusing to get out. Tears were everywhere in his eyes. "Sota, get your butt up here, now!" Kagome screamed. Sota still didn't move. He sat down and opened the floodgates. "I hate you! I hate you, Kagome!" he cried.  
"I know how you feel, Sota.""No, you don't! You don't know anything!""Stop your bellyaching!" someone said. Sota gasped and looked up to find Inuyasha standing tall in front of him. His face lit up with astonishment. Kagome's face was filled with shock. "Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" she demanded."I'm here to make sure the little brat comes home with a sense of peace."_Oh, how nice of you to do that, calling him a 'little brat.'_ Kagome thought.  
"Don't be so hard on yourself, kid. I know that it's hard to say goodbye to your friends," Inuyasha explained. But after what he said hit Sota's, he was sent into a state of shock. _Did he just call me his 'friend'? _ he thought. Kagome was also shocked when the echo hit her ears.  
"Besides, with your new spiritual powers, we just might need your help one day. So, what do you say? It's time to come home."

Sota nodded his head and got on Inuyasha's back. Inuyasha then jumped out of the well, and dropped Sota off. "Ready to go, Kagome? Pretty soon, everyone's gonna find out I've left."  
"What! You mean no one knows you left."  
"So what? Let's head back."  
"Sota, the Shikon shard, please?" He handed it over with sorrow on his face. Inuyasha turned to Sota, winked at him, and said, "See ya later, kid."

Kagome and Inuyasha jumped back into the well to resume their adventure. Sota walked over the well's edge, looked in, at reassured himself. _Inuyasha's right. Someday, I will return. _

* * *

Creating "Brother's Keeper" was a challenge for me. I had a lot of trouble trying to come up with a plot that was plausible, and not "out there." There is one person I would like to thank in helping me start my "career" in fan fiction writing, and that person is Inudewaruika. Thank you for guiding me and advising me while I came up with this story. I would also like to thank every last one of my readers. Because of you, I had a reason to continue writing when I was fresh out of ideas. You were an inspiration to me. 

Thank you.

Do not worry. I will be back writing another story. In fact, it will be a sequel to "Brother's Keeper," and that's all I'm telling you. For now, I'm going to go on hiatus so I can get the plot figured out. Look out for my sequel between late July and early August. Until then, I remind you again to remember the three R's of fan fiction: Read, Review, and Recommend. Remember, don't let anything get in the way of your dreams, no matter how difficult it may seem. Someone will provide you the inspiration you need.

God bless each and every one of you.

Laxplaya

P.S. Inudewaruika can be found at Media Miner


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